Yagan Railway: Surviving as a Connecting Line

Yagan Railway runs in Tochigi Prefecture, the northern part of the Tokyo metropolitan area.

Yagan Railway is a 30km line with only nine stations.

This small-sized railway company owns only four train cars.

However, it has a significant role between the two railways, Tobu Railway in the south and Aizu Railway in the north.

This is Shin-Fujiwara Station, the first station on Yagan Railway.

As you can see, one of the major private railway companies - Tobu Railway's express train has just arrived.

At this station, the crew members of the two companies make a switch.

According to an agreement between the two companies, the Yagan Railway drivers operate even on Tobu Railway cars.

After the train runs along Yagan Railway, it connects to Aizu Railway in Fukushima Prefecture and heads to Aizu Tajima Station.

Currently, Yagan Railway operates 20 round trips per day.

And among the 20, 10 services are through Tobu Railway and Aizu Railway.

Therefore, Yagan Railway has about 50 employees, and 22 of whom are involved in train operations, such as conductors and drivers.

In today's episode, we look at Yagan Railway, which is trying to survive as a connecting line between the regions.

Starting service in 1986, Yagan Railway is a third-sector railway company subsidized by Tochigi and Fukushima Prefectures.

Before Yagan Railway started service, the only way to reach Tokyo from the Aizu area of Fukushima was to take the JNR conventional train and the Tohoku Shinkansen.

But with the opening of the Yagan Railway, the Aizu area and the Tokyo metropolitan area were connected, and fares were lower, making it more convenient for users.

Located between two railways, Aizu Railway in the Fukushima Prefecture and Tobu Railway connecting Tochigi Prefecture and Tokyo,

Yagan Railway has ensured convenience by operating mutual service with these two railway company lines.

Since 2017, Tobu Railway's new limited express 'Revaty' has been running on Yagan Railway, which allows passengers to travel directly from the Tokyo area to the Aizu area.

Revaty operates an express service to Shin-fujiwara Station.

Then the train stops at most of the stations on the Yagan Railway line, where passengers riding the Yagan Railway can ride the Revaty at a regular fare.

Fares for this section are revenue for Yagan Railway.

However, 60 percent of the Yagan Railway line runs through tunnels.

And there are no schools or factories along the line.

Only 3% of the passengers commute to school or work.

As a result, Yagan Railway has relied on tourists and transit passengers through Tobu Railway and Aizu Railway for much of its revenue.

This is Mr. Nihei Masahiro, President of Yagan Railway.

He was in charge of regional development in the Aizu area at the Fukushima Prefectural Government but left three years ago to become president of Yagan Railway.

The pandemic has severely
affected our business.

Today, our sales are only back to two-thirds
of what they were pre-pandemic.

Plus, the region's population is
small and rapidly declining.

Therefore, to boost ridership, we need to
become a railway company that people want to come and ride. By doing so,
we think we can attract more tourists.

There are many tourist attractions along the Yagan Railway line.

The company strives to utilize these attractions to recover from declining sales.

This is Ryuokyo Station.

Near this station is a scenic area created by river erosion, which attracts hikers throughout the seasons.

Especially during the autumn, many visitors come to see the autumn leaves.

The name "Ryuokyo" comes from the resemblance of the river's flow to the silhouette of a dragon.

Ryu means dragon in Japanese.

In the station building is a dragon decoration made by employees in honor of the station's name.

To visit the Aizu area, I use this train because
it's cheaper and easier than the Shinkansen.

I think it's great that the old trains
run through the mountains.

There are hot spring spots along the line, and five out of the nine stations were named after hot springs.

Therefore, Yagan Railway has nicknamed the line 'Hot Spa Line' to promote the use of the line as an access point to hot springs.

This area has many hot springs
and their quality is great.

We fell in love.

We come here often and want to
use Yagan Railway even more.

Here at the tourist facility close to 'Yunishigawa-onsen Station,' a free footbath was opened in line with the strategy of Yagan Railway, aiming for a tourist route.

Since 2012, an amphibious sightseeing bus has been operating from this station to take visitors around the nearby reservoirs.

Visitors can also enjoy canoeing and mountain stream fishing along Yagan Railway.

And the last stop, Aizukogen-ozeguchi Station, is the gateway to Oze, one of the most famous wetlands in Japan.

Oze is a vast wetland that continues along Tochigi, Fukushima, and Gunma Prefectures.

It's famous for its natural beauty and rare plants, and it's listed in the Ramsar Convention.

Many people come and enjoy hiking in the area.

To attract more visitors to Oze, Yagan Railway operates a 'tourist train' with Tobu Railway.

This is the 'Oze Night Express 23:45.' It's a night train departing from Asakusa Station late at night on weekends

and runs to Yagan Railway's Aizukogen-ozeguchi Station.

At 11:45pm, the train departs from Asakusa Station.

It's about a three-hour journey from Asakusa to the last stop.

Currently, this is the only private railway, other than JR, that operates night trains regularly.

We've used this train a lot.

It's more convenient and comfortable
than going by car.

We decided to use this train since
we can hop on it after work.

We're already excited.

The lights turn off around 1:00 am.

Everyone is now off to sleep in preparation for the hike.

At 3:08 am, the train arrives at Aizukogen ozeguchi Station.

The train stops at the platform, and passengers can continue to sleep on the train for another hour.

Then at 4:20 am, the passengers transfer to a dedicated bus in front of the station and head for Oze.

For Tobu Railway, working with Yagan Railway is indispensable to increase their ridership.

Yagan Railway helps us connecting
the local regions to Tokyo.

It also carries tourists from Tokyo
to visit the Aizu area.

So Yagan Railway is essential
to the adjoining railways.

We hope to run our SL Taiju to the
southern Aizu area eventually.

SL Taiju is a tourist steam locomotive operated by Tobu Railway in the Nikko Kinugawa area of Tochigi Prefecture.

The service started in 2017, and Tobu Railway currently operates three steam locomotives and two diesel locomotives.

When the steam locomotive is hauling the train, it's called 'SL Taiju.' When the diesel locomotive pulls the train, it's called "DL Taiju."

This year, the DL Taiju began to operate on the Yagan Railway line.

This tourist train is operated jointly by three companies, Yagan, Tobu, and Aizu Railway, to revitalize the local communities of Tochigi and Fukushima Prefectures.

In the future, Yagan Railway is considering improving the facilities so that the 'SL Taiju' can operate on their line.

The tourist numbers are slowly returning, but many people still travel in
small groups and use cars.

So we need to provide service in which
people can enjoy riding such tourist trains as Tobu Railway's DL Taiju.

Wow, Yagan Railway has it all.

We have great views, nature, hot springs and even direct connection from Asakusa in Tokyo.

What more can you wish for.

Visiting Yagan Railway is really a nice day out, and I did ride Yagan Railway number of times in my life, including about 15 years ago when I took the train from Asakusa,

all the way to Aizu-Wakamatsu changing trains somewhere along the route.

And it took a really long time but I did enjoy the ride.

But since then, I think the Revaty express for example has been put into service, but things haven't changed that much in terms of the travel time.

And I think Yagan Railway can do more than they currently does.

More, how would you like them to improve?

Well, there are number of ways to improve their services, and one of them is to increase the frequency of the express trains.

And also there is possibility to skip some of the stations along the route of the express trains so that they can run slightly faster than they currently does.

And in the long run, I hope that they increase the speed of the trains, because currently the top speed of the trains that they run is only 80km/h,

but the line is actually built to a very high standard of the Japanese National Railways.

And because of those high standards, you think the trains could run faster?

Yes, in my opinion I think they can run as fast as 120 or even 130km/h and that means a very significant cut in travel times.

Next let's see Yagan Railway is planning to refurbish one of their old train sets to create a new tourist train.

This is the Series 6050 train used on Yagan Railway.

Currently, two of these train sets are in operation.

Tobu Railway introduced these trains in 1985, and these have been used mainly as regular trains to run long distances.

Yagan Railway has been using the same Series 6050 trains since its inception, connecting through Tobu Railway.

This series was used as a night train.

It only has two doors on each side. It was
designed for long-distance transport.

These are box seats.

Each box has a table and
another one underneath.

Passengers can enjoy their meal here.

The Series 6050 trains were used by Tobu, Aizu, and Yagan Railways for many years.

However, due to aging, the Tobu Railway and Aizu Railway cars were scrapped in March 2022.

Yagan Railway is the only company that still runs these cars in service.

On September 5, a tour was held for visitors to enjoy the remaining Series 6050 on the Yagan Railway line.

The participants ride Tobu Railway's dedicated train from Tokyo to Shin-fujiwara Station.

Even though it was a weekday, 24 people participated in the tour.

Some of them had taken time off for this special day.

The Series 6050 first runs through the station so that participants can capture the Series 6050 in action.

Afterwards, the train stops at the platform, and participants hold their cameras for a picture-perfect moment.

We came here today because this is the
only railway we can ride this series.

We're taking pictures of some features that
are only available on the Series 6050.

At 1:40pm, the tour train departs Shin-fujiwara Station to Aizukogen ozeguchi Station.

In between, the train stops at Yunishigawa-onsen Station, an underground station.

The train stops for 10 minutes, and the participants enjoy photo sessions on the platform.

This is Ojika-kogen Station, which is known as a 'secluded station' because there are no houses around the area with only a few passengers using this station.

The train stops here for 20 minutes to capture this precious moment.

At the last stop Aizukogen-ozeguchi Station, a unique event was held to move the 'roll signs' installed at the front and sides of the train.

These analog roll signs, which indicate the train types and destinations, are rare today.

Trains use digital signs today.

So these analog signs rolling
are rare to see.

So I took a lot of pictures.

I enjoyed the relaxing journey,
sitting in the box seats.

I hope there'll be another
opportunity like this.

This railfans' favorite train has been in operation for 36 years, and unfortunately, its body has deteriorated, making it challenging to find its train parts.

Therefore, Yagan Railway has decided to majorly refurbish its trains to make them more convenient and attractive, and carry more tourists.

The plan is to convert one of the two train sets into a tourist train.

One of the ideas is to install the driver's cab
from an old train, in the passenger zone.

Passengers can experience
what it's like to be a driver.

Also, we plan to remove the regular seats
and create a tatami mat space.

We want to offer space for senior citizens
and families to relax.

Because it would be so spacious, we could
use it for activities like workshops.

In addition, this region is famous
for is cycling routes.

Therefore, we hope to have space
for cyclists and wheelchair users.

Yagan Railway decided to raise funds to refurbish their train through crowdfunding.

Their goal is 15 million yen.

This is the beginning of a renovation project that will ensure the survival of Yagan Railway.

The crowdfunding started in August and now has reached 17 million yen, exceeding their goal of 15 million yen.

Many fans of the Series 6050 have donated and sent messages to root for the project.

While fulfilling our role
as a connecting line, we also want to provide a tourist train
that people come and enjoy riding.

The challenges we faced made
us come up with such ideas.

First of all, congratulations to Yagan Railway for reaching their crowdfunding goal.

Just within one month after they launched their project, that is impressive.

I think that comes to show that the Series 6050 is very popular among railfans.

Yes, the Series 6050 is designed by Tobu Railway but it's really sad to see Tobu has decided to withdraw all of 6050 fleets that they own.

So it's really good to see Yagan has decided to preserve and continue to use these two train sets that they own.

So that's a good news.

And also for people who have funded the crowdfunding project, they will probably comeback and see the refurbished train that is running on the Yagan Railway,

so that means you know more media attention.

And social media.

Yes, and also more people will visit the region and that is a good news for the local communities as well.

Yes, Yagan Railway which used to be a connecting line is now flourishing into becoming a tourist route.

We're wishing them all the best.

On August 23, about 50 people participated in a tour in Kumamoto Prefecture, located in the Kyushu region, where they could experience the work of railway workers.

At the rolling stock center, visitors saw a diesel locomotive turn around on a turntable and toured the engine room of a steam locomotive still in service.

Participants enjoyed an exciting experience, such as listening to stories from a former steam locomotive engineer.

Seeing something we can't see on
a regular trains is cool.

On September 1, Tsugaru Railway in Aomori Prefecture began running the 'Bell Cricket Train,' a train that let's passengers can feel the arrival of autumn.

The Tsugaru Railway staff members raised about 500 bell crickets for this train.

On the first day, they placed two insect cages containing 10 bell crickets on a shelf behind the driver's seat.

Please feel the autumn approach
with their ringing.

In Japan, the sound of insects is associated with the change of the seasons.

I was able to feel the season change.

I hope they continue these kinds
of seasonal events.

We hope people will enjoy the landscape
and the sound of bell crickets.

The crickets will do a great job.

Tsugaru Railway's 'Bell Cricket Train' will operate until mid-October.

On September 6, a wrapped train debuted on the Kyoto Tango Railway, which runs in the northern part of Kyoto Prefecture.

Kyoto Tango Railway at Kyoto Prefecture planned the "Umi-no-Kyoto Train," to promote the prefecture.

The livery is a gradation from blue to green, evoking the imagery of a landscape transitioning from the sea to the mountains.

The seats are decorated with designs inspired by the traditional 'Tango Chirimen' silk with illustrations of local specialties.

Kyoto is famous for temples and shrines but
also has many other beautiful places.

We hope to revitalize the prefecture by
having many people ride our new train and discover
the beauty of Kyoto.

The unique wrapped train will run three times a day for the time being.